Temporal arteritis: a review and case history

Temporal cell arteritis is a systemic vasculitis occurring mainly in the elderly. Classic symptoms such as headache, jaw claudication, visual changes, and polymyalgia rheumatica make the diagnosis relatively easy. Occult or asymptomatic presentations, however, are often missed or attributed to another cause. It is important for clinicians to be aware of the diverse presentations of this disease to avoid unnecessary investigations and prevent complications such as visual loss, myocardial ischemia, cerebrovascular accident, and death. This report presents the case of a patient who was referred with anemia and an elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and who developed a headache during the hospital admission.